Chapter 440: The senior sister is so strong, what kind of expert must Lu Yang's master be?

Lu Yang wiped the tea from his face, looking innocently at the Grand Elder. "Grand Elder, what's wrong?"

The Grand Elder stared at Lu Yang as if he were a ghost, wondering if his hearing was failing him in his old age.

He had lived for over two thousand years, was the eldest among the Dao Seeking Sect's Nine Sons, and a half-step Tribulation Transcending stage expert. This was the first time he had encountered anything like this.

As far as he knew, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had traveled to the Barren State, with perhaps only the Dragon Horse Great Demon King accompanying them at most.

Even with that lineup, let alone a force ten times stronger, it would be impossible to capture three Tribulation Transcending stage souls.

"Who did you capture?"

"Wu Youdao, Venerable Xuanlei, and Venerable Wuji," Lu Yang said, counting them off on his fingers for the Grand Elder.

The Grand Elder gasped, nearly choking on his tea. These three were all renowned Tribulation Transcending cultivators from the Great Yu Dynasty, especially Wu Youdao, who was born with the visage of a dragon and tiger emperor and had always been praised by Great Yu historians.

"The old horse runs fast, so we arrived first; the news probably hasn't reached you yet," Lu Yang continued. "Grand Elder, you wouldn't believe how dangerous it was in the Barren State this time. We nearly lost our lives there; it was truly perilous."

The Grand Elder narrowed his eyes at Lu Yang. "Are you saying 'truly perilous' because you captured all three of them?"

"First, explain how you managed to capture these three Tribulation Transcending cultivators, you brat."

Lu Yang whispered conspiratorially, "Grand Elder, there are no outsiders here, and we're all from the Heavenly Court Cult. So I won't hide it from you: our Heavenly Court Cult has a very important figure, the Lord of the Ancient Heavenly Court, the Supreme Great Heavenly Venerate, Heavenly Venerate Dou!"

"I captured these three Tribulation Transcending cultivators entirely thanks to Heavenly Venerate Dou's help!"

The Grand Elder was momentarily stunned, then a knowing smile appeared on his face.

It seemed Yunzhi had made her move.

Although disciple-niece Yun's position in the Heavenly Court Cult was that of the Cult Master, that didn't prevent her from having multiple identities.

For example, she was both the senior sister among the disciples and the acting Sect Master.

"Alright, alright. Since it concerns disciple-niece Yun, go discuss it with her."

The Grand Elder shooed Lu Yang out of the Mission Hall.

Lu Yang shook his head helplessly and said to Immortal Fairy, "See? I told you so. This definitely needs to go through Senior Sister. You wanted to bypass her and come straight to the Mission Hall to redeem contribution points. That's impossible."

"Fine," Immortal Fairy replied dejectedly.

As Qiu Jin'an had mentioned, Senior Sister had already completed the procedures for their master's release and returned to the sect.

When Lu Yang returned to Heavenly Gate Peak, Senior Sister still maintained her ethereal posture, sitting cross-legged on the mountaintop, her eyes containing myriad stars, mysterious and unfathomable.

Just looking at her from afar, one could feel immense pressure.

Wu Youdao and the other two felt their scalps tingle at this sight. While Lu Yang didn't understand its meaning, as Tribulation Transcending cultivators, they knew what this scene signified.

It was precisely because they knew that fear arose from the depths of their hearts.

During the Great Yu era, the stars in the sky were merely afterimages left from ancient times; true stars were almost nonexistent.

It was for this reason that when Wu Youdao and the others awakened from their slumber, they quickly noticed the anomaly in the starry sky.

The stars, once mere afterimages, had been silently refilled by someone, yet there was no record of it.

What immense power was this?

And what cultivation realm was required to achieve such a feat?

They had always wanted to know who was responsible for the stars shining brightly once more, and now they finally knew.

They would have preferred not to know.

"Senior Sister, I'm back." Facing Senior Sister, Lu Yang was incredibly obedient.

"He calls this immortal what? Senior Sister?" Venerable Xuanlei cried out, completely losing his composure.

The other two had similar reactions. This woman was actually Lu Yang's Senior Sister?

Then how terrifyingly strong must Lu Yang's master be?

What a terrifying Dao Seeking Sect.

"You're back?" Senior Sister rose. The stars in her cold eyes flickered and vanished, as if they had never been there, and her distinct black and white eyes gazed calmly at Lu Yang.

"What's the situation with these three Tribulation Transcending cultivators inside you?" Senior Sister casually glanced, immediately noticing the bustling activity within Lu Yang's spiritual space.

"Alright, everyone out," Immortal Fairy said, pulling all three of them forth.

The three Tribulation Transcending cultivators were like mere chicks in Immortal Fairy's grasp.

"Their cultivation foundations are quite ordinary; it would be difficult for them to become immortals. Tell me, what happened?"

Senior Sister recognized all current Tribulation Transcending cultivators, having sought their guidance. Since she didn't know these three, they were clearly ancient cultivators.

In Senior Sister's view, these three had mediocre foundations and could not become immortals.

Lu Yang gave a concise yet detailed account, omitting his romantic entanglements. He simply stated that he went to the Corpse Driving Sect, discovered Hanshui City was haunted, and while slaying ghosts, encountered Huang Ming, an Integration stage cultivator from the Great Yu Dynasty who had dispersed his cultivation for re-cultivation. He then encountered True Monarch Mengtian, but was saved by Qiu Jin'an.

"True Monarch Mengtian and Huang Ming escaped and haven't been caught. Then, Wu Youdao appeared, looking as if their plot had been exposed and he was executing the plan prematurely."

Wu Youdao: "..."

So you didn't even capture True Monarch Mengtian and Huang Ming!

Venerable Xuanlei and Venerable Wuji cast resentful glances at Wu Youdao. *Why were you in such a hurry to jump out?*

Their original plan was to wait for Venerable Wuji to successfully transcend his tribulation, activate the grand formation, and seize the power of national destiny.

Even if they had followed the original plan, the outcome would still have been Immortal Fairy using the power of national destiny to deal with the three of them.

Lu Yang then recounted the battle between Wu Youdao's faction and Governor Lu's faction, specifically mentioning Sect Master Lu, who had been possessed, and the man in the white paper hat who had intervened, suspected to be the Nine Nether Cult Master.

"Possessing Sect Master Lu?" Senior Sister's eyes narrowed slightly, causing ripples in space. Venerable Wuji's soul trembled, as if he had been targeted by an extremely terrifying entity from which he could not escape.

When Senior Sister had visited the Corpse Driving Sect for exchange and study, she had primarily sought Sect Master Lu's guidance on the art of corpse driving.

"Sect Master Lu's soul lamp has not extinguished, so it seems he took that into consideration and didn't fully possess him. Still, it's unforgivable."

Senior Sister stepped forward and coldly pressed down on the top of Venerable Wuji's head. Venerable Wuji shrieked in agonizing, bloodcurdling screams, as if his three souls and seven spirits were being forcibly torn apart. His consciousness rapidly dissipated.

"Why have you all disappeared? Why can't I see you anymore?" Venerable Wuji's vision went black. He stumbled, reaching out, unable to see anything.

"Wuji, you..." Venerable Xuanlei started to speak, then stopped, wanting to say, *It's not that we've disappeared, but that you've lost your ability to perceive the outside world.*

"Is anyone talking? Speak up, I can't hear you," Venerable Wuji said, having lost his hearing.

Venerable Wuji's consciousness dissolved. His mouth opened and closed, unable to form words, before he collapsed to the ground.

His soul was thoroughly cleansed, and from that moment on, the being known as Venerable Wuji ceased to exist in the world.

"He'll be used as an artifact spirit," Senior Sister stated, tossing Venerable Wuji aside before looking at the trembling Wu Youdao and Venerable Xuanlei.

A Tribulation Transcending stage artifact spirit—not even a Tribulation-level magic treasure necessarily possessed such a powerful artifact spirit.

For a cultivator's soul to be refined into an artifact spirit, its cruelty was second only to having one's souls and spirits scattered.

"If either of you conceals anything, you will likewise be refined into artifact spirits."